Core transaction deposits up $189 million from the fourth quarter, or 13 percent annualized

Return on assets of .89 percent, or 1.07 percent excluding merger-related and other charges

Efficiency ratio of 59.3 percent, or 57.4 percent excluding merger-related and other charges

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga., April 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI) ("United") today announced strong first quarter results with solid margin improvement, effective expense
management and sound credit quality. Net income was $23.5 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, compared with $22.3 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2016.

On an operating basis, net income rose to $28.2 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared with $23.9 million for the first quarter of 2016. First quarter 2017 operating net income excludes pre-tax merger-related charges of $1.17 million and pre-tax charges related to branch closures of $831,000, net of the income tax benefit associated with the charges of $758,000. Also excluded is a non-cash tax charge of $3.4 million related to the cancellation of interest rate swaps that were designated as cash flow hedges. The non-cash
tax charge was previously included in other comprehensive income until the swaps matured or were canceled.

First quarter 2016 operating net income excludes $2.65 million in pre-tax merger-related charges, net of the associated income tax benefit of $1.00 million. On a per diluted share basis, operating net income was 39 cents for the first quarter of 2017 compared with 33 cents for the first quarter of 2016.

"We began 2017 with a solid first quarter," said Jimmy Tallent,
chairman and chief executive officer. "Excluding merger-related and other non-operating charges, operating net income per share was up 18 percent from a year ago to 39 cents, driven by strong loan and fee revenue growth and expense management. Also excluding these charges, we held our operating efficiency ratio to 57.4 percent, the second best in a decade and surpassed only by the fourth quarter of 2016. Including those charges, the efficiency ratio was 59.3 percent.

"While linked-quarter operating net income was down slightly, our margin expansion and disciplined expense management offset most of the seasonal declines in mortgage and SBA lending, as well as some seasonal decrease in loan growth," Tallent said. "Our bankers made steady progress improving financial performance by growing core transaction deposits a healthy 13 percent in the first
quarter, all while holding deposit pricing steady.

First quarter net interest revenue totaled $83.6 million, up $8.6 million from the first quarter of 2016 and up $2.6 million from the fourth quarter of 2016. The increases from both
periods reflect net interest margin expansions of 4 basis points from a year ago and 11 basis points from the fourth quarter, driven by rising short-term interest rates. Loan growth and the acquisition of Tidelands Bank in July of 2016 were the primary drivers of the increase from a year ago.

The first quarter provision for credit losses was $800,000. This compares with a provision recovery of $200,000 in the first quarter of 2016 and no provision for the fourth quarter of 2016. First quarter net charge-offs totaled $1.7 million, compared with $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2016 and $1.5 million in the fourth quarter. Contributing to the low level of net charge-offs were continued strong recoveries of previously charged-off
loans. Nonperforming assets were .23 percent of total assets at March 31, 2017, compared with .28 percent at both March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2016.

"Our first quarter provision for loan losses reflects continued strong, steady credit quality and a low level of net charge-offs," Tallent commented. "Our credit quality indicators remain favorable and our outlook is for that to continue. We also expect our provision levels to gradually increase during the year due to loan growth, while our allowance and the related ratio to total loans will decline slightly."

Fourth quarter fee revenue totaled $22.1 million, up $3.47 million from a year ago and a decrease of $3.16 million from the fourth quarter. Mortgage fees were up $1.14 million
from a year ago, and down $2.09 million from the fourth quarter. Gains from sales of SBA loans were up $722,000 from a year ago due to continued growth in SBA lending, and were down $1.07 million from the fourth quarter. Partially offsetting the seasonal linked-quarter decreases in mortgage and SBA revenue was a $499,000 increase in brokerage fees. Other fee revenue was down $386,000 from the fourth quarter, mostly reflecting a lower volume of customer derivative business.

Operating expenses were $62.8 million for the first quarter, compared with $57.9 million for the first quarter of 2016 and $61.3 million for the fourth quarter. Included in operating expenses are merger-related and branch closure charges of $2.05 million in
the first quarter, and merger-related charges of $2.65 million in the first quarter of 2016 and $1.14 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Excluding these charges, first quarter operating expenses were $60.8 million compared with $55.2 million a year ago and $60.2 million for the fourth quarter.

The increase in operating expenses from the fourth quarter is primarily due to higher salaries and employee benefit costs, with most of the increase related to payroll taxes that start over at the beginning of each year. The increase from a year ago also reflects additional operating expenses following the acquisition of Tidelands Bank on July 1, 2016. United's financial results begin including operating expenses of acquired
companies on their respective acquisition dates.

Income tax expense for the first quarter totaled $18.5 million compared with $13.6 million a year ago and $17.6 million in the fourth quarter. Included in first quarter income tax expense was a $3.4 million non-cash charge to release income taxes on hedge instruments that were held in other comprehensive income during the time in which United had a full valuation allowance on its deferred tax asset. For accounting purposes, these disproportionate tax effects remained in other comprehensive income until the instruments that created them ceased to exist. In the first quarter of 2017, several related interest rate swaps matured while the balance of these hedge instruments were canceled thereby requiring a transfer from other comprehensive income to a
non-cash tax expense charge. The charge had no effect on tangible book value, since there was no effect on total shareholders' equity. Income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2016 was elevated by a charge of $976,000 due to the impairment of a portion of the deferred tax asset as a result of cancelling nonqualified stock options.

Tallent concluded, "We are off to a good start toward another exceptional year for United Community Banks. Our bankers continue to execute our strategic plans and serve their customers with the enthusiasm, energy and passion that are the foundation of our success. I'm also excited about the Horry County State Bank acquisition that was announced last week and is expected to close in the third quarter. Not only is the bank in a market where we want to expand, it
is also a solid cultural fit with the same emphasis on outstanding customer service for which United is known."

Conference CallUnited will hold a conference call today, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the contents of this earnings release and to share business highlights for the quarter. To access the call, dial (877) 380-5665 and use the conference number 97149143. The conference call also will be webcast and available for replay for 30 days by selecting "Events & Presentations" within the Investor Relations section of United's website at www.ucbi.com.

About United Community Banks, Inc.United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI) is a registered bank holding company based in Blairsville, Georgia with $10.7 billion in assets. The company's banking subsidiary, United Community Bank, is one of the southeast region's largest full-service banks, operating 134 offices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The bank specializes in providing personalized community banking services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.
Services include a full range of consumer and commercial banking products including mortgage, advisory, and treasury management. Respected national research firms consistently recognize United Community Bank for outstanding customer service. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, J.D. Power ranked United Community Bank first in customer satisfaction in the Southeast. In 2017, for the fourth consecutive year, Forbes included United among their list of the top 100 Best Banks in America. Additional information about the company and the bank's full range of products and services can be found at www.ucbi.com.

Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresThis News Release, including the accompanying financial statement tables, contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. This financial information includes certain operating performance measures, which exclude merger-related and other charges that are not considered part of recurring operations, such as "operating net income," "operating net income per diluted share," "operating net income available to common shareholders," "operating diluted income per common share," "tangible book value per common share," "operating return on common equity," "operating return on tangible common equity," "operating return on assets," "operating dividend payout ratio," "operating efficiency ratio," "average tangible equity to average assets," "average tangible common equity to average assets" and "tangible
common equity to risk-weighted assets." These non-GAAP measures are included because United believes they may provide useful supplemental information for evaluating United's underlying performance trends. These measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative to or substitute for, measures determined in accordance with GAAP, and are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP measures that may be presented by other companies. To the extent applicable, reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable measures as reported in accordance with GAAP are included with the accompanying financial statement tables.

Safe HarborThis News Release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by federal securities laws, including
statements about United's financial outlook and business environment. These statements are based on current expectations and are provided to assist in the understanding of future financial performance. Such performance involves risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such statements. For a discussion of some of the risks and other factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results, please refer to United's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K under the sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors." Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.